Superheat system for internal-combustion engines



Oct 30, 1928.

W. P. DEPPE SUPERHEAT SYSTEMYFOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Feb. 18. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A TTORNEY W. P. DEPPE Ucf. 3U, T928.

SUPERHEAT SYSTEM FOR INTERNAL CbMBUSTION ENGINES 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Feb. 18. 1922 HVI ISAITOR- I A TTORNE V Patented a. 30, 1928;

UNITED STAT as I PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM IP. DEPZPE, OF BEIG-HTWATERS, NEW YORK.

summer SYSTEM ron zn'rnnnancomsu'srron enemas.

Application filed February 18, 1922. Serial No. 537,404,

. and conventional, and my present improvement relates to a commercial lay-out, particularly arranged for engines of the T-head t e. I )ne object of the improvement is to so arrange the apparatus that it will be compact in form and yet be capable of providing the necessary heating elements to properly vaporize the fuel constituents of the mixture and thereafter raise the temperature to such an extent as to superheat the mixture and maintain it soduring and after its delivery to the engine. 7

For carrying out my superheat method, ac-

cording to the patent hereinbefore referred to, I have devised various forms of apparatus capable of produciipg and delivering to the engine a superhea dry gas, 111 accordance with the requirements of my improvement, but it has been found that better results may be obtained by such heat treatment of the mixture, as will facilitate producing an ionizing effect upon the mixture while at the same time super treatment and the delivery to the engine that erably made of an integral y it will have the properties of a superheated dry gas. When such a gaseous mixture is compressed in the cylinder it is, found that the proportions of air, combustibles and inert gases have been so controlled that the mixtures may 'besubjected to higher compression pressures than has heretofore been possible without preignition or socalleddetonations and will give unifo-rm'and complete combustion with sustained pressures.

Therefore, another object of my present improvement is to construct the heaters in such a manner as to facilitate heating and ionizing the mixture and to conserve the heat applied. For this purpose, the conduit portion of the heater and mixer element is prefcasting of bronze or other metal or alloy, having a relatively high heat conductivity, while the jacket enclosing the conduit is made of cast or sheet iron or sheet steel or other suitable metal of q relatively low Heat conductivity to prevent excessive radiation to the atmosphere. It has bcenfound that when the conduit of the conductivity ability, has a tendency to create mild electrical or 'tionsof the conduits liable eating it, and so timing'the.

more capable of uniform heater for example, is made of bronze or copper alloy, the mixture passing therethrough is more readily ionized, due presumably to the free electrons in such metals, drawn out by high temperature, bombarding the fuel mixture. Forthis reason,

it is preferable to select metals,

for the mixture conduit, which may have something of a catalytic or electrolytic effect andin this manner facilitates the ionization of the mixture when properly heated. It is believed also that the use of metals of varying molecular and atomic arrangements and varying heat and electrical when heated properly magnetic efiects in the metals which are utilizable with marked efiect on the fuel charge when this is also properly treated and heated. In heating the walls of the conduit or of the heaters, it is important to bear in mind that liquid fuels are more readil cracked than the same fuels in the vaporize state and temperatures of the metals that would roduce the spheriodal state in the liquid uels constituents. Therefore,v the heated porto come into contact with the fuel constituents in liquid form are vmaintained at temperatures below the cracking or spheroidal state of the liquid, but after the fuels are completely vaporize/din the air in the ratios em loyed, they can be v are frequently high enough to crack the fuel superheated and hot exhaust gases at the proper temperature injected into t e mixture without cracking the fuel constituents.

In order that the mixture maybe properly conditioned and more especially for renderin 1t homogeneous, and preventing the sp eroidal'state of liquid fuels developing when liquids are thrown against hot metals, it is desirable not only to regulate the temerature of the heated Walls of the conduit ut to employ a rotary mechanical mixer, located in the conduit immediately above the throttle valve of the'carburetor, and a cylindrlcal chamber. at the entrance to the heater and mixer is preferably rovided for this pur ose. Under some con itions, apparatus of t is character maybe operated without the rotary mechanicalmixer or with some other type or design which gives mechanical breaking up of liquids in moving air streams, but from my experience, I have found that the mixture is rendered more homogeneous and superheating and conditioning if a rotary mechanical mixer of substantially the type indicated is employed because homogeneity is found to be of great importance in that it insures uniform distribution to the cylinders of the engine, and also rofoundly affects the characteristics of the uids involved in combustion processes under the conditions existing in practical operation of internal combustion engines.

Another object of my improvement is to provide apparatus capable of operating ac cording to m improved method wherein the superheated ry gas is diluted by the mixture therewith of a redetermined amount of the hot products or combustion, introduced into the hot mixture on its way to the engine at temperatures above the partial pressure boiling points of low the cracking points thereof. A suiiicient amount of diluent gases may be introduced in this manner to render the mixture substantially non-explosive in the generating apparatus, but the treatment thereof and the proportions are so regulated that the mixture, when com ressed in the cylinders of the engine Will e rendered explosive and capable of complete and uniform combustion when subjected to high compression pressures. When operating the engine with mixtures of this character, and particularly when the diluent used is hot exhaust gases from the engine roperly injected, it is found that as a resu t of the ionization effected not only by the heating in the heater and mixer, but by the introduction of the hot exhaust gases into the mixture enroute to inlet ports, the mixture when compressed in the cylinder, after being mixed with the residual hot exhaust gases, will undergo changes under high compression pressures, which renders the mixture more readily explosive and after firing will give uniform combustion and unusually sustained ressures apparently due to the orderly cydle of combustion, dissociation and reunion of gases involved, in contradistinction to the uncontrolled action in heterogeneous wet mixtures before and after ignition.

My resent improvement is more particularly s iown in connection with a T-head type of e 'ne and is illustrated in the accompanying rawings, in which Fig. 1 shows a side elevation of the a paratus, the main part of the engine being broken away; Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the apparatus and its connections to the head and exhaust manifold of the engine; Fig. 3 represents a top plan view of the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2 with the engine partially broken away Fig. 4 represents a vertical section through the heaters on the line H of Fig. 3; Fig. 5

shows a vertical transverse section of the. heater on the line 5 -5 of Fig. 4 and Fig/ 6 illustrates the two-piece construction of the jacket enclosing the spherical portion of the heater conduit. 2

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents the the fuel constituents but be engine which may be provided with the usual or any preferred number of cylinders and in the form shown, is what is ordinarily called a T-head type of engine. That is the inlet ports are located on one side of the engine and the exhaust ports on the other. In the particular engine represented the manifold passages leading to the several inlet ports are cast integral with the block or head and there is but a single opening in the block, indicated at 2 in the broken away portion of Fig. 1 of the drawings. The exhaust manifold is shown at 3 and comprises a conduit extendin throughout the length of the cylinder bloc and communicating with exhaust port passages in the head or block in the usual or any well-known manner. Ordinarily a carburetor may be connected directly with the intake inlet 2, and in order to carry out my improvement an intermediate conduit is provided between the carburetor 4 and the intake inlet 2 to the manifold in the engine block, substantially as shown in the drawings.

. The carburetors may be of the usual or any preferred type, although it is preferably of the form shown in my Patent, No. 1,163,223 of December 7, 1915, which is provided with a centrally opening throttle, operated by the throttle lever 5. In this form of carburetor, the primary air is admitted through the passage 6 an the secondary air through the passage 7. These passages are preferably connected by means of flexible metal tubes 8 and 9, with a suitable or stove or heater (not showng, surrounding the exhaust pipe in the wellnown manner.

The upper end of the carburetor at 10 is adapted to communicate directly with the lower end 11 of a heater and mixer member, the entrance end 11 of which is cylindrical in form and provided with a rotary mechanical mixer 12, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The upper end of the cylindrical portion 11 of the conduit joins an annular sheeting portion 13, formed by a spherical enlargement 14 of the outer wall of the mixture conduit and the annular sheeting conduit has its inner wall defined by a spherical bulb 15, uniformly spaced from the spherical outer wall of the conduit, so as to leave a narrow annular clumnel, capable of thinly sheeting the mixture passing therethrou h. The spherical bulb 15 is connected by tubular members 16 and 17 with the outer wall 14 of the spherical portion of the conduit, the tubular portions being adapted to provide inlet and outlet openings for passing hot exhaust gases into and through the inner spherical bulb 15. As will be seen in Fig. 4 of the drawings, the tubular portion 17 has an'extension 18, beyond the outer walls of the conduit, which is adapted to be connected by an elbow 19 on the end of a ipe 20, leading over the top of the engine lock from the exhaust manifold 3, substantially as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings. The end 21 of the pipe 20, entering the exhaust manifold 3 is preferably cut off at angle so as to form a battle to more readily direct the exhaust gases into the tube the drawings.

' elbow 19 is prefera The spherical sheeting portion 1314 of the conduit, the. integral interior spherical bulb 15 and the tubular cylindrical portion 11 for the mixer 12 are all preferably formed of an integral casting of bronze or some such alloy containing a large percentage of copper, which as is well-known is of relatively high heat conductivity. I have also found that forming the mixture conduit of metals or alloys of this character, facilitates ionization of the mixture, the metal apparently acting as a catalyst, and the electron bombardment described herein seemingly has electrolytic effect when heat is properly applied. In order to thoroughly heat the thinly sheeted mixture, it is preferably heated on both sides and in order to heat the outside wall 14 of the annular conduit it is enclosed by a jacket 24, which may be preferably formed of cast iron or other metal of relatively low heat conductivity, thus tending to prevent excess radiation outside of the heater. The jacket 24 is here shown as made of two hemispherical castings, (obviously stamped sheet-metal may be used if desired) each provided with lugs or bosses 25, by which they may be clamped together about the sphericalv annular conduit portion of the heater and mixer, substantially as shown in Figs. 4 and5 of the drawings. The two sections of the jacket 24 are more particularly shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, separated from the heater and mixer conduit. The jacket 24 is' provided at 26 with a circular opening which, when the two pieces are secured together, is adapted to surround the tubular boss or extension 18 of the tube-17, connected with the inner bulb 15 and through which exhaust gases from the pi e 20 are conducted. The lily provided with a ground face and a clamping bolt 27 is provided, which passes throu h the openings 16 and 1'] and through a ho e at 28 in the jacket 24, the bolt being provided with suitable head and nut for clamping the elbow 19 rigidly to the end of the tube 18, as will be seen in Fig. 4 of the drawings.

One of the hemispherical halves of the jacket 24 is provided at 29 (Figs. 2 and 6)" with a tubular boss splitat 30, in which a pipe 31 is secured for conducting the exhaust gases from the jacket to a pipe 32 leading down below the engine, substantially as indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. n will be seen that the hot exhaust gases will be led in through the pipe 20 and conducted through the tubular portion 17 into the interior of the spherical bulb 15 and then out through the tubular connection 16 into the jacket 24 tube 31 and exhaust into the air through the pipe 32.

The present apparatus is adapted for carand out of the latter through the ticularly describes my method of injecting hot exhaust gases into the heated mixture and operating an internal combustion engine therewith. p a

The upper portion of the heater and mixer at 34 is restored ,to the cylindrical form and is here connected by suitable flanges 35 and bolts .36, (see Fig. 2) with one endof a U- shaped tube or pipe 37, the opposite end of which is connected at '38 with the upper end- 34 of a heater and mixture sheeting member, substantially identical with the one connected with thecarburetor, and the corre sponding parts are given the same reference numbers, followed by a small a. Thusflthe mixture from the connecting pipe or conduit,

37 enters the annular sheeting conduit 13, which is definedby the outer conduit wall 14 and the inner spherical bulb 15. After passing through the annular sheeting portion 13 of this second heater, which is secured by flanges 39 to an elbow conduit 40, the mixture passes through the cylindrical portion 11 and into the conduit 40 which, Figs. 1 and 4 of the drawings, conducts the mixture in the inlet opening 2 in the engine block.

The double elbow conduit 40 is formed. in a cast bracket 41, which is provided with a flange .42 for attaching the conduit to the engine block, so that the opening of the conduit 40 will coincide with the inlet 2 of the intake manifold in the engine block. Suitable bolts 43 are provided for clamping the manifold bracket 41 to the engine block. Preferably the bracket 41 is provided with a shelf-like extension 44 provided with ahole adapted to register with the lower end of the cylindrical part 11 of the first heater and mixer and also with the upper end 10 of the and 4 of the drawings. It will be seen that as indicated in,

this construction is very rigid and fully supports the entire mechanism of the apparatus in compact form. The arrangement is such that the mixture passes through the first heater from the carburetor and through the U-shaped or return pipe 37 and then through the second heater and sheeting member and through the elbow connection 40 to the intake of the engine. The pipe 37 and bracket 40 may be made of bronze, cast iron or other suitable metal, according to the heat treatment required and the length and diameter of the various portions of the conduit may be varied according to the length of time it is desired to treat the mixture and the amount and speed of movement necessary to give the desired results.

It will be seen that both the heating members which provide for annularly sheeting the mixture, are identical in construction, and, in both the inner conduit for the mixture is formed of bronze or other metal of relatively high heat conductivity while the outer jackets thereof are of cast iron or sheet metal of relatively low heat conductivity.

Both of the heaters are heated with exhaust gases drawn from the exhaust manifold 3 through the pipes 20 and 20, and the exhaust gases after passing throu h the inner bulbs 15-15 and through the ackets 24 and 24 are led by the pipes 31 and 31 into the downwardly extending exhaust pipe 32, wherethey may be conducted into the air directly or through a suitable mufller.

One important feature of the globular form of heater and mixer shown and described herein, is that it provides for a slowing up of the speed of movement of the mixture passing tierethrough, thereby giving ample time for gasifying and superheatmg the mixture.

It will be understood that the apparatus described merely represents one form of apparatus for carrying out my improved method of o crating an internal combustion engine, with a diluted superheated dry gaseous mixture, and with generating means made of high heat conductivity metals for fuel charges and low conductivity metals for the heating fluids, and various modifications in the specific details and arrangement ma be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim 1. An apparatus for preparing a superheated homogeneous drv gaseous mixture for operating internal com ustion engines, comprising a carburetor, a spherically shaped annular heating chamber connected with and adapted to receive mixture from the carburetor, means for heating said chamber to a temperature for vaporizing the fuel constituents Without cracking or producing the spheroidal state therein, a second spherically shaped annular heating chamber mounted adjacent the first named heating chamber, a

connecting conduit between said heating chambers to conduct the mixture from the first into the second, means for heating the second heating chamber to a temperature adapted to superheat the mixture, a conduit connecting the second heating chamber with the intakes of the engine, and means for injecting predetermined amounts of hot products of combustion into the fuel mixture passing through said connecting conduit between the heating chambers.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim '1, in which a mechanical mixer is inserted between the carburetor and the first named spherical heating chambers for mechanically atomizing the liquid fuel particles to facilitate complete vaporization and a homogeneous mixture.

3. An apparatus'for preparing a superheated homogeneous dr gaseous mixture for operating internal com ustion engines, comprising a carburetor, a pair of spherically shaped heater conduits, each provided with a jacket chamber and an interior spherical chamber adapted to receive exhaust gases for heating the mixture passing through the conduit which lies between the jacket and inner sphere, means for mountin said heater conduits side by side in parallel relation, a U- shaped conduit connecting said heater conduits for conducting the mixture from one into the other and an elbow-shaped conduit connecting one of said heater conduits with the intakes of the engine.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which the jacket chambers and inner spherical chambers'of the respective heater conduits are connected with the exhaust manifold by pipes for conducting exhaust gases therethrough.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which the inner spherical chamber of one of said heating devices is provided with means for injecting controlled amounts of exhaust gases into the mixture in the direction of flow thereof.

6. An aparatus of the character described, for use in connection with a T-head engine having intake ports on one side and exhaust ports on the other side of the cylinders, comprisin a horizontally disposed elbowshape portion of the conduit connected with the inlet to the cylinders, an inverted U- shaped portion of the intake conduit extend-ing upward from said elbow portion, one leg of said U-portion being connected with said elbow portion and the other with a carburetor, annular spherical expansion chambers conduit portions in each leg of said U-shaped conduit, and means for heating said annular spherical portions of the conduit within and wthout, including pipes passing to the other side of the engine and connected with the exhaust manifold.

having intake ports on the ot 20 duit portions are t-erior of said sphe rickl' thereof coincident with t 7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, in which each of said annular spherical portions of the legs of the U-shaped conduit are enclosed by separable jackets through which the exhaust gases are passed for heating the outside wall of saidspherical conduit 1 portion, I

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, which each of said annular spherical conrovided with spherical chambers defining t for the admission of exhagstgases ta thefinlchambers from said pipe" connections with" the exhaust-manifold. 9. An apparatus of the character described for use'in connection with a'T-head engine, ports oneone side and exhaust er side of the cylinders, comprising a horizontally disposed bracket casting'including'an elbow portion of the intake conduit, said bracket being formed with a horizontal shelf, provided with holes therein, one of which is portion of the conduit, an inverted U-shaped' intake conduit supported on the shelf of said bracket and having the en ends of the legs shelf sothat one leg is in'coi'nmunication e inner walls of the con-- duit and tubular connections are provided coincident with said brackete openings in said with the inlet port through said'bracket portion of the conduit and the other leg, through said opening in the shelf, is in communication with a carburetor suspended from the underside of said shelf, means for heating each leg of-the Ushaped portion ofthe conduit, and connecting pipes between said heating the otherlside of the engine.

'10; Theapparatus' as claimed claim 9, 1 40.

in which each legof the U-shaped portion of the conduitis provided with a spherical enmeans and the exhaust manifold on largement forming annular spherical shaped portions of the conduit, defined by internal spherical chambers adapted to be heated by exhaust gases from theengine, and each ofsaidspherical portions rounded by a which said lnner spherical chamber of said annular s herical' conduit portions is provided with flow of the mixture for; admitting controlled amounts of ture.

P. barre.

of the conduit. is sur jacket-for receiving exhaust gases for heating'the outer wall of said portion of the conduit. a r v 11. The apparatuses claimed in claim 9 in perforations in. the direction of,

the exhaust gases into the mix- I 

